Local belly dancers putting on show

The city of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department and Arizona Western College are bringing a little bit of Middle East culture to Yuma - in the form of the belly dance.

Origins: An Evening of Middle Eastern Dance will include students and professionals from the Yuma area who will perform the well-known international phenomenon.

Angie Creel-Erb, Lisa Manchester and Raven are professionals in the field, and will lead the students during the performance.

Banat Tabla (Daughters of the Drum), a group of ladies who study the art form in Yuma, will give a special guest performance.

Banat Tabla is a professional belly dance troupe that combines modern bellydance techniques with traditional elements of dance from around the Middle East, as well as American tribal-style dance.

The show begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Historic Yuma Theatre, 254 S. Main St.

Tickets are $5 at the door. Children 3 and under are free.

For more information, call 344-7776.

"There will be about 30 students who will dance with the Banat Tabla during the two-hour performance," said Creel-Erb.

"We have been teaching the classes through AWC for two years, and the performance will include dancers of all levels of experience. This is a unique opportunity in Yuma to see a cultural dance exhibition and it may get people interested in taking the classes. It will show them what belly dancing is all about."

Creel-Erb said this will be the largest performance the group has ever put together.

"We have been preparing for this for months, and we have never had a really big show like this. We have put a lot of time, sweat and effort into this, and it will be a great and entertaining show."

Belly dancing is an ancient art form, but historians dispute the location of its origin.

"Belly dance comes from all over the Middle East, including northern Africa and the Balkans," Creel-Erb said. "Now it is also influenced by dances from the U.S."

Some historians believe belly dancing was originally from ancient Babylon in southern Iraq. Before the arrival of Islam, the tradition was for women to dance at social gatherings. After the arrival of Islam, belly dancing was banned.

Creel-Erb said belly dancing may have been used to practice giving birth to children, and was used by women for that purpose.

"Belly dancing was a dance by woman for woman because in those cultures the men and woman were segregated. I love belly dancing because it develops a community between the women dancing."

Creel-Erb said belly dancing  is great exercise.

"It is fun to watch because the dancers are having fun and you can see their grace as they dance. It is beautiful."